Pavano: years in pinstripes “a black period in my career"

First the "black period" quote from Sam Borden:

“I mean, it’s tough. I mean, you know, it’s definitely a black period in my career, four years where I was kind of just treading water for awhile there, but obviously, with the way this year has gone, I have been able to go out there, and sustained health, go out there and be successful and get through the year and how everything has come full circle.”

Borden also said that Pavano mentioned how great his chemistry is with his current teammates in Minnesota. Maybe that's because he's not getting paid $40 million to drive Porsche's into garbage trucks while he's supposed to be rehabbing. Or missing time with a "bruises buttocks." Maybe that has something to do with it.

Here's more from Pavano on his start tomorrow, via Mark Feinsand:

“Luckily, this is my second team this year, so I’ve been able to put a lot of that behind me,” Pavano said of his New York tenure. “This is the postseason; whoever you’re playing, it’s always special. My job tomorrow is to go out there and put us in position to win. We fell short the last two games, but we’re playing good baseball.”

...

“They’re a tough lineup, one through nine,” Pavano said. “Any time this team catches momentum - and you saw that last night - they start feeding off each other. You have to break that up.”

...

“With the way this year has gone, I’ve been able to go out there, sustain health and be successful. Everything has come full circle,” Pavano said. “When I look back on it, obviously I’d like things to have been a lot different, but it didn’t work out that way. I feel like I’m getting back to where I was before all those problems, so there’s definitely some satisfaction in that.”

And some more from Christian Red:

Pavano, to his credit, shrugged off the boos last Wednesday. "I was here Opening Day with Cleveland so I got hammered a lot worse than that," Pavano said. "Hey, I don't blame 'em. I'd boo me too after the four years I spent here in New York."

There were also some quotes from Brian Cashman, and some of his former teammates:

"I wish people knew the Carl Pavano I know," says Cashman, who has no regrets about the Pavano bust. "There was a great deal of resentment when he was here - the fans, probably his teammates. He wanted to do nothing more than be successful. He just wasn't healthy."

And Mo and Jeet:

Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, humble to a fault, does not dare touch the topic during Thursday's off-day: "I don't want to talk about Pavano. Sorry," he says. And Derek Jeter, the face of the franchise and consummate gamer, sums up Pavano's Yankee career with a shrug: "Well, Pav was here for a long time. The thing ... he just didn't pitch when he was here."

While I will give credit to Pavano for saying he'd boo himself too, I still can't wait to watch the Yanks end their season on Sunday with this guy on the mound. Oh how sweet it would be.